


Check You Out

by koi_choshi



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Library, M/M, lame pick-up lines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 01:49:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20024566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koi_choshi/pseuds/koi_choshi
Summary: Everything started when Nino threw a book on some noisy, blonde guy who caused a lot of noise inside the freaking library.





	Check You Out

**Author's Note:**

> This was my fic for Nino Exchange 2019

Nino liked working in the library. He didn’t really need a part-time job but he accepted being a library aide because he had lots of free time but no place to stay during those periods.

Library work was not too complicated. He was tasked to scan the books and the student IDs for check out, handle the return of the books, put the books back on their shelves if he was the aide assigned for closing period, and give assistance on how to find some books. Usually, the students know what to do so he didn’t really have to move away from his cozy booth that much.

In his booth, he was free to play games and listen to music with his nice set of headphones. Students could call his attention by ringing the small bell on his table. Otherwise, he rings the bell if the students get noisy (if he could hear the noise through his headphones, that means it’s noisy).

“Damn it,” Nino hissed under his breath as his character lost its final life. He removed his headphones and placed his phone down. A student was standing in front of his table, impatiently ringing the bell. “What do you want?” he hissed.

“Those guys over there are noisy,” the spectacled student complained, pointing at a desk.

“And I assumed you didn’t need my help for that, J. your glare is enough to stop them,” Nino said, leaning on his swivel chair and folding his arms.

J, short for Matsumoto Jun, rolled his eyes. “You’re the library aide assigned here so you have the responsibility to keep this library quiet, right?” he retorted. He tilted his chin towards the rowdy group of men who though the library was some skateboard park. “I’m going back to my desk while you solve this problem,” he added, storming off and returning to his desk.

Nino stood up, shaking his head as he looked at the group. The other distracted students were looking at the rowdy group of students fearfully; some of them even vacated their seats just to get away.

“Hey, hey this is a library!” Nino said, ringing the bell loudly. Of course, obviously, those delinquent-looking men, ignored Nino’s bell. He groaned in frustration, feeling a little bit uncomfortable that the other students were looking at him, hoping that he could solve this problem.

Nino grabbed a random checked-out book on his desk, making sure that it was hardbound one. He then sighed. “I hope this hits home,” he sighed under his breath before he threw the book. Nino wasn’t really sporty but he was certainly proud of his pitching skills. He watched carefully as the book flew across the hall, landing on the dry blonde-haired head of one of those rowdy students.

“Hey!” he yelled, looking behind him. The other boys were jeering and laughing.

Nino walked towards them. “I can report you to the higher-ups if you really are keen on making such noise inside the library,” he threatened.

“So what?” the blonde dude said, standing tall in front of Nino, clearly trying intimidate.

Nino wondered if this classic library regulations dialogue would work or he would be thrown towards the bookshelves but he tried. “It’s against the school regulations to disturb the library. If I report you to the authorities, you’ll have a record against you and I don’t know if you want that when you do your university clearance.”

“And you think I’m afraid of that?” the guy responded.

Nino didn’t really want a confrontation like this but it was inconvenient and a little bit scary so he thought it was time to stick out his sharp tongue and wave it like some deadly weapon. “Yeah. I know the likes of you. You’re one of those useless sons who couldn’t even get in this university without your parents’ money and influence.”

Nino knew that he hit home by the way the man was looking at him as if he was ready for the kill. He walked towards Nino and edged his face closer, his breathing seemed too hot, like an angry dragon. Nino was actually getting afraid but he did his best to maintain eye contact.

“Take back what you said.”

“Look at yourself first,” Nino snapped back. Stop being a waste of space and get out of here.”

“Don’t waste your time on that small fry,” one of them hissed. The others laughed.

“I’m not done with you yet,” he whispered at Nino before he backed away, then turning to his companions. “Let’s go find someplace else. Our tiny librarian here is a bit feisty.”

The other delinquents booed, making Nino shoot glares at them. “Get out of here,” he said, mustering his most dangerous voice. He stood on the spot while the blonde guy marched off the library, his minions tailing after him.

“Nino, are you okay?” Jun said, standing behind his friend after the men left. The other students in the library still looked dazed after the confrontation.

“Y-yeah,” he answered, his throat dry and voice hoarse. “That was the first time I actually used my ‘stern librarian’ skills,” he tried to joke, but his throat was so dry it hurt. One of the students awkwardly applauded. “No clapping in the library!” Nino hissed as he made his way back to his booth to play some games and try to calm himself down.

***

“Nino, Nino!” Aiba Masaki, Nino’s best friend, called out when he entered the library.

Nino rolled his eyes and rung his bell, signaling Aiba to shut up. His friend covered his mouth with his both hands as he ran towards where Nino was. “Nino! I heard from Jun-kun that you had an encounter with some bad students!”

“Are you going to commend me or what?” Nino smugly replied while he returned some books to their shelves.

“No! I’m actually going to warn you! That blonde guy you hit is Sakurai Sho and he’s smart, rich, but also like that,” Aiba said. “I actually had a crush on him in high school – but that’s another story – but now I’m kinda scared of him.”

“Oh,” Nino just replied. Well, he might be right that Sakurai entered the university through his parents’ money and power. What a total useless jerk. He then grinned at Aiba. “You didn’t tell me about that old detail,” he teased. “I didn’t know you like bad boys. Jun looks too soft, you know?”

Aiba blushed. “Quit changing the topic! Sakurai actually wasn’t like that before, to be honest. He was very popular among everyone in school,” Aiba said, looking upward as if thinking deeply. “But anyway, Nino, that’s not the point! My point is, Jun said you threw a book that hit his head. Who knows, I might find you under the bridge bloody and all that!”

“That’s too much.” Nino turned to Aiba. “You’re watching too many yankee dramas.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Aiba shrugged. “Do you need someone to accompany you home, just in case they ambush you?”

“Shut up,” Nino just hissed. He ignored Aiba as he continued returning the books to their shelves. His friend was silent for a few minutes. After that, Aiba started tugging Nino’s shirt. “What?”

“He’s here.”

“Who?” Nino asked.

Aiba nudged his chin towards the direction of the door. The blonde delinquent, Sakurai Sho, entered the library. His hands were inside his pockets and he strolled towards the shelves. Nino didn’t want any trouble because he was too busy returning a full cart of books, and he also wanted to return to his game as soon as he could. If this Sakurai Sho would cause some trouble, Nino knew that he had to nip it in the bud.

“Nino….!”

Nino ignored his paranoid best friend’s tugs and walked towards Sakurai. “Are you going to cause trouble today?” he asked, trying to be as stern as possible.

Sakurai looked at him, smirked, and turned away. He let his hands run through the book spines on the shelves. “Hey, I am talking to you,” Nino said again.

Sakurai looked at him and pressed a finger on his lips. “Mr. Librarian, I thought you said it’s against the school regulations to disturb the library?” he mimicked Nino and it was actually very irritating. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to do some light reading.” He clicked his tongue and said, “Why don’t you go back to your work. Shoo!”

“You!”

“I am not doing anything wrong, just reading. You can’t throw me out,” Sakurai replied mockingly.

Nino was definitely annoyed. He wanted to throw that delinquent out but he really wasn’t do anything wrong. So far. He bit his lip in annoyance and stomped his way back to where Aiba and the book cart were.

“What happened?” Aiba asked curiously.

“I can’t really kick him out if he’s not doing anything wrong,” Nino said, frustrated.

Aiba nodded in understanding. “Well, he has a point.”

“That guy is seriously getting into my nerves,” Nino said.

Aiba covered his mouth to stifle a chuckle. “You are so worked up. Just observe him and see if he does something wrong first, then you can report him.”

“You were the paranoid one here!” He glared at Aiba. “Anyway, you’re right! I totally will find a way to actually report him and get rid of him,” Nino said with conviction while he watched Sakurai grab one dusty book.

After he returned the rest of the books from the cart, Nino returned to the booth and sat down, ready to play another round of games, when someone cleared his throat. Looking up from his seat, he saw Sakurai Sho with an irritating grin, holding a book.

“I didn’t know people like you can read,” Nino said, wanting to get better of Sakurai.

“I’m checking that out,” Sakurai just said, shrugging innocently.

Nino took the book and opened the back page to retrieve the library card. However, he saw a note posted on the back.

_“I’m really going to get back at you, you dwarf!”_

“You!”

“Hurry up, I don’t have a lot of time,” Sakurai just said. “Or do you want me to report to the authorities that their librarian is dozing off?”

Nino muttered some curses as he checked out the book for Sakurai, pulling on his ID neck strap harshly in order to scan his ID code. Not wanting to be outdone by Sakurai, Nino hastily wrote a note for the arrogant idiot to read.

Sakurai grabbed the book and left the hall wordlessly. Nino sank down on his seat, too drained to even play.

“What happened?” Aiba asked, walking towards his side, leaning his elbows on top of the booth.

“That idiot gave me a note,” Nino passed the note to Aiba, who gasped. “No worries, I did a perfect comeback.” He smirked as he looked at the door where Sakurai had exited.

***

Maybe it was a wrong decision to go against Sakurai Sho. Maybe Nino should have listened to Aiba. The next few days had been hell for Nino in the library. It wasn’t really that serious but it was really annoying. On Nino’s shifts, a Sakurai-minion (how Nino called them) would purposely hold off exiting the library to extend Nino’s stay. In one other occasion, he found one of them making out with a random student. One of them also rearranged the books in incorrect order, giving Nino a headache on how to locate some popularly checked out books.

At least Nino hasn’t experienced being taken under a bridge to get beaten up, probably because he actually coerced Aiba and Jun to walk with him home. However, he also didn’t want these things to happen over and over again. It was irritating and energy-draining.

With that in mind, he marched towards Sakurai when he saw him walking along the main road in the university. Luckily, he wasn’t surrounded by his minions and there were ordinary students around. Hopefully, they’ll be ready to help Nino if Sakurai beats him up then and there.

“Hey!” Nino yelled, grabbing Sakurai’s attention.

“Oh, small fry librarian, what’s up?” Sakurai asked with a smug smile that really tempted Nino to punch the man. But since Sakurai looked stronger, Nino decided to use his best weapon: his words.

Nino did his best not to. He balled his hands into fists but tried to steady them. Taking a deep breath, he faced Sakurai and yelled, “You’re a coward, aren’t you? Ordering your minions to make my life hell. I bet you have it easy, getting in this university without working hard. Maybe your parents paid your way to be here. You don’t deserve to be here!”

The words seemed to have a very bad effect on Sakurai. His ears became red in anger. He dropped his bag and walked towards Nino. If Nino wasn’t resigned to end Sakurai with his words, he would have stepped backward or flinched. But he just stood there, trying to be brave.

“Take back what you said!” Sakurai snarled, grabbing Nino’s collar when he was able to reach him. The other students started looking at the two of them.

Nino could feel Sho’s hot breath on his face and it made his heart beat faster out of adrenaline. He just continued talking. “You are offended because that’s true! Now man up and stop being a waste of space around here! If you don’t have anything better to do, then drop out. You’re making all of us here a joke!”

Sakurai raised his fist and Nino turned to the side, wanting to avoid the coming punch. Nino looked at him and momentarily saw a different expression that disappeared in the blink of an eye.

“I am not a joke and I am not done with you yet!” Sakurai venomously hissed at Nino’s face before pushing him away.

Nino fell on ground. He watched as Sakurai roughly shoved away the students who were circling around them.

***

Nino was still sleepy when he climbed the ladder to return some books. He had just come from an all-nighter, reviewing for an examination that morning. Everything went according to schedule – Nino was able to confidently take the exam – and he could actually take a short nap before returning these books. But Nino wanted to get everything done so that he could sit comfortably behind his booth. Besides, the library was still empty and it would be more difficult to return books to shelves while a couple of other students ask for help.

He couldn’t help but yawn loudly, some tears clouding his vision, as he climbed up the ladder to return some books to the topmost shelf. He was holding on to the ladder with one hand, his one foot on the ladder and the other one on the shelf.

Nino probably forgot to put on the wheel stopper, or maybe he positioned the ladder in a bad angle. The ladder started to roll away from the shelf and Nino was too sleepy to even attempt to hold on. He could only close his eyes.

“Watch out!” he heard someone say. Nino landed on the floor and he was so ready to have some kind of brain injury, or to die – if he’s that’s unlucky – but he felt something soft cushioning his body and muffled sounds of pain underneath him. Nino gasped in surprise when he spotted the familiar, very dry blonde hair of the person lying on his back. It was Sakurai Sho who saved him.

“Can you get off?” his muffled voice underneath said. Nino, after quickly assessing if he broke something, stood up and then helped Sakurai by offering his hand. “I guess you have disturbed the silence of this library with your ridiculous stunt,” he said.

Nino looked around and luckily, there was no one else except for him and Sakurai. However, his yelp earlier could have echoed throughout the large space so it was embarrassing that Sakurai was able to hear it. He then looked at his unexpected savior, expecting an insulting look. Nino felt his breath hitch when he looked at Sakurai’s eyes, seeing unmistakable worry.

“You’re welcome,” Sakurai simply said, his expression shifting back to that annoying, arrogant look. He silently placed his hands inside the pockets of his baggy pants, walking towards the Mathematics section to get some books.

Nino’s heart was beating fast due to the adrenaline of just surviving a fall. But it confused him that Sakurai tried to help him earlier; after all, this delinquent wanted to get back at Nino for humiliating him in front of his peers and in front of the student body. An accidental fall could have been a very convenient way to have his revenge.

***

“Maybe he knew that if you fell down, people will blame him,” Jun thought loudly as he ate the pudding dessert. Nino, Jun and Aiba had just finished lunch in the cafeteria and were just wasting time before the bell rings.

“That’s too negative, Jun-kun,” Aiba replied. “What if he has changed his ways? It’s possible, right?”

“And this is the reason why you are so gullible,” Jun breathed out, rolling his eyes.

Nino sighed. “He now keeps on frequenting the library, reading a lot of math and economics stuff,” he explained. Nino suddenly felt guilty about trying to catch Sakurai doing something against the rules. “He didn’t seem to do anything worth reporting at all.”

“See? That means he’s trying to change!” Aiba told Jun.

“I’m still not buying it. You can’t just transform into a goody-two shoes that fast,” Jun drank the remaining contents of his canned coffee. “I still think you should be careful, Nino. He must be doing this to catch you off guard.”

Aiba sighed. “Jun-chan, you’re unbelievable!”

Aiba and Jun continued bickering but Nino was already zoning out, thinking of what his friends had said. Did Sakurai Sho already start to change? He’s still blonde, but his way of clothing seemed to look more decent compared to his outdated hip-hop style. Nino also didn’t see him hanging out with other delinquent buddies, but instead found a new companion with a short, sleepy-looking student, who usually accompanied Sakurai in the library only to nap or to doodle on his big sketchbook.

Nino also noticed the pattern of books Sakurai borrowed. Out of curiosity, he found out that the guy was under the College of Economics, Major in Economics and Business Studies, through his borrower ID’s profile. That college was notorious in their university to be a quota college, only admitting the best of the best, and not hesitating to kick out flunkers. For a delinquent-looking Sakurai Sho, it seemed impossible that he could enter with _just_ his parents’ help, and seemed _more_ impossible that he was still studying in the college.

Nino suddenly felt a little upset – was he wrong about Sakurai Sho?

***

It was a non-busy day in the library, and Nino was glad about this because he could also study on his own without being bothered that much. He was busy memorizing a page from his reviewer when someone rang the small bell, grabbing his attention. Nino looked up and was surprised to see Sakurai Sho’s sleepy-looking companion.

“Good evening,” he greeted politely. “I want to borrow these books for overnight use,” he said, handing Nino a crumpled list.

“You can get them in Section 34-A. But you better look it up in the system to be sure,” Nino said in a monotonous voice, wanting to teach the student that he could actually use technology and not bother the librarian with such a mundane question.

The guy, however, remained standing in front of him. “Uhh, I’m sorry about this but I had no idea about these books,” he said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “They were requested by my friend but I’m not an Economics major so I have no idea.”

Nino looked up again and blinked a few times. If this guy was talking about an Economics major friend, which somehow confirms that he was borrowing books for Sakurai Sho. Why did he send someone else to borrow books? Anyway, the guy looked pitiful with his puffed up cheeks and pathetic expression, so Nino sighed and motioned the guy to follow him.

“What’s your name?” Nino asked.

“Ohno Satoshi. I’m from the College of Fine Arts, actually,” he added, showing his ID.

Nino nodded. “And your friend is…?” he asked, even though he had a vague idea who it might be.

“Sakurai Sho, from the College of Economics,” Ohno said. “The things on this piece of paper are gibberish to me.”

“Understandable,” Nino grunted. They both went towards the computer that allowed them to search for the book. Nino, who was a History major, didn’t also know a lot about these things, but working in a library has taught him of ways to locate the books not related to his study. After they listed down the book code in the piece of paper, they both set off to go to the section indicated.

Nino couldn’t help but curiously ask, “Are you and Sakurai friends?”

Ohno smiled. “Yeah, since high school,” he replied. There was a short pause. “He just recently started reaching out to me, though, after quite some time.”

“I see,” Nino said. He must be pushing it but he decided to ask another question. “What happened… exactly?”

Ohno shrugged. “I guess he was in some kind of trouble, he decided to hang out with the wrong crowd and purposely flunked everything,” he just said. “Now, I believe that he’s making up for it, especially because he’s supposed to graduate this year.”

Nino smiled stiffly, a little bit guilty because Ohno’s statements nailed how wrong Nino was regarding Sakurai. He silently looked at the shelves where the titles were. One by one, Nino pulled them out. Each book was heavy, and it gave a heavier feeling in Nino’s chest.

In the end, they had to use the book cart to haul five books back to the booth for check out. “Why did he ask you to get these, anyway? That’s irresponsible,” Nino commented thoughtlessly as he helped Ohno put them on the table.

Ohno shook his head frantically. “He’s sick! Well, I didn’t really want to borrow books for him and let him study because he’s sick, but he was so adamant on studying and he was so persuasive so I had no choice but to be here,” he defended himself.

Nino just nodded with a short laugh. “Okay, but how are you going the get these home?” he then asked, waving his hand towards the large books. Ohno looked small. He probably couldn’t carry all of them.

“I have a bag,” Ohno suggested, holding out a tote bag that looked too thin and flimsy.

Nino shook his head. After all, one of his responsibilities is to take care of books. “That can’t do. He looked around him and then at the large clock. I’m going to clock out in thirty minutes. I can help you carry them to your place… if it’s near,” he added, mentally slapping himself for the suggestion that will surely inconvenience him.

Ohno, however, looked at him as if he was an angel who fell from heaven. “That would be great!” he said gratefully.

Nino sighed. “Anyway, you will check this out under your name so if something bad happens to these books, you’ll be responsible, not Sakurai.”

“I know that,” Ohno said, his wide smile still not disappearing. “Since it’s still thirty minutes, I’ll just leave them here while I grab some supplies from the convenience store. I’m taking care of a sick boy, you know?”

“Yeah, whatever suits you,” Nino replied, scanning the codes of the books for check out. When Ohno left, he sighed loudly. He wondered what happened to Sakurai, and furthermore, he wondered why he was _that_ worried. He also wondered about what Ohno told him about Sakurai, making him remember and cringe at the rude stuff he had said.

Sakurai is an Economics Major and also a graduating student. Sakurai studies even while sick. Sakurai is persuasive. Sakurai is…

Nino shook his head. Why was he that curious, anyway?

After Nino clocked out and handed over the tasks to the next part-timer, Ohno and he set off towards the station, their arms full with the heavy books.

The apartment was only a five minutes’ walk from its station but Nino was too tired and the weight of the tote bag strap cutting into his shoulders. Plus, they also had to climb up the stairs to the fourth floor.

“I’m home,” Ohno greeted as they entered the unlocked apartment, quickly putting the books on the floor. “Sho-chan, you should have rested more!” he scolded his friend in a totally mother-like way, complete with a hand on his hips.

Nino couldn’t see Sakurai but he could hear some coughs and sneezed. “I’m fine, Satoshi. I just woke up so I have some energy to study. Did you get them?”

“Yeah,” Ohno answered. “I also brought someone to help me carry them here. You didn’t tell me they’re that heavy!”

“Sorry, I forgot how they looked like. Who helped you?” Sakurai asked before he went into a coughing fit.

Nino didn’t want to leave the genkan but Ohno motioned him inside. Nino shyly got in and greeted Sakurai with a stiff smile. “I didn’t know people like you get sick,” he teased half-heartedly.

“I didn’t know people like you know how to help,” Sakurai just snapped back weakly. He shook his head in disbelief. “Ahh, I can’t believe you’re seeing me in this state.” He looked back on his notes on the low table. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I know,” Nino just replied. He wanted to make a witty comeback but he just managed to release a sigh as he watched Sakurai compute something using his calculator. The way he worked looked interesting; he moved his fingers on the buttons fast and he really looked like he knew what he was doing, never stopping once to think of how to solve the equations. It was like a confirmation that Sakurai Sho did not enter the university because his parents just paid for it. It made Nino curious because Sakurai seemed to be a good student – if he worked hard.

Nino didn’t even notice that he was sitting there for quite some time, watching Sakurai scan through books, muttering to himself some formulas until he could memorize them, and using the formulas to answer the questions. Sometimes, Nino would even stare at Sakurai’s lips as they moved.

“Dinner is ready,” Ohno announced, bringing in a small pot in the middle of the room and putting it on Sakurai’s makeshift study table. “You can also eat here if you like, Ninomiya-kun.”

The food smelled really nice and Nino hasn’t eaten dinner but he had to decline. “What? No, I’m fine. I also have to go back home.”

Sho went into a coughing fit again. “Don’t be shy,” he said in a hoarse voice. He flashed a weak smile towards Nino.

“No, really,” Nino said, standing up and slowly walking backwards back to the genkan. “Good luck with you exam, Sakurai-san. I’ll be going.”

Without waiting for anyone to say something, Nino hurriedly got out of the apartment. For a moment, he thought his chest would burst. It was probably because of that embarrassing moment of barging in a dinner meal in a stranger’s home. Nino sighed and looked at the ground as the image of Sakurai’s smile towards him that night. It wasn’t the same as Sakurai’s taunting smile that made his blood boil. There was warmth, and also a little bit of shyness in that smile. But that’s probably because he was too sick and too busy to annoy Nino.

Nino realized he was actually standing in front of Ohno’s apartment for a few minutes already, deep in thought, so he decided to tiptoe his way out of the apartment made a sprint back to the station.

***

Nino sighed as he looked at the number of library users. It was the finals exam season and a lot of books were being checked out, lots of students frantically looking for books, some others quarrelling over some books with limited copies, and some frustratingly groaning while studying. Nino’s bell was well-used during this period.

Three days after his visit in Ohno’s home, Sakurai Sho went to the library, already up and well. He was carrying a trolley bag that contained all the books Ohno had borrowed for him.

“Wow, you’re well,” Nino said. He was not in the mood for a witty one-liner against Sakurai and to be honest, he didn’t feel like doing that anymore, after seeing Sakurai sick but determinedly studying. He was actually impressed with that Economics student. Nino was just average and barely getting by with his passing scores.

“Yeah,” Sakurai replied, placing the books on Nino’s booth one-by-one. “Thanks for helping Satoshi out the other night.”

“I didn’t want him to drop the books. That tote bag he brought was too flimsy,” Nino commented. Eyeing the trolley, he added, “He should have used that to get the books the other night.”

Sakurai chuckled. “And make you lose the opportunity to see me that night?” He winked, making Nino’s chest tighten again. “I’ve used these books three years ago it slipped my mind that they’re humongous.”

Nino chuckled with him as well. He started to take the books off the table. “When’s your exam?”

“Tomorrow?”

“I assume that you were able to eat all information from these books?”

Sho smirked. “You actually think I’m a genius, huh?”

Nino was not able to respond to that. He pursed his lips. Well, that was too arrogant of Sakurai Sho, but Nino actually believed that he could be a genius.

Sakurai waved and walked out of the library. Nino, on the other hand, started to open the back page of the books to scan their codes. To his surprise, the first book had a note. It was meaningless, however, just the character “a” written on it.

He shrugged it off and peeled the note off. He opened the next book and found another note only containing the character “u”. Narrowing his eyes, Nino decided to move quickly and look for the other notes inside the books. Another one of them said “to”, and the other said “ga”. Nino wasn’t that stupid to figure it out, and true enough, the last book had a post it saying “ri”.

“He can just say this personally, you know?” Aiba interrupted like some mushroom sprouting behind Nino. He was looking at the discarded notes on Nino’s table. “Hey, I wonder what had happened for Sakurai Sho to be like this with you.”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” Nino said. He was about to collect the pieces of paper and discard them but he went against it, just placing the notes on his table and making a mental note to keep them once his annoying best friend leaves. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have your own exams?”

Aiba smiled. “I’m studying over there with Jun-kun,” he said pointing towards the table with piles and piles of books. He could only see Jun’s elbow behind them. “It’s too quiet when I review alone so I asked him to accompany me, even though we’re not from the same department.”

“Makes sense,” Nino replied. “Go back and don’t fail or anything.”

“How about you, Nino?”

“Didn’t I tell you that I’m done with my exams already?”

“Ah, yes, I forgot,” his friend grinned, embarrassed. “I’m going now. Tell me more about you and Sakurai Sho’s developments, okay?”

“There are no _developments_ ,” Nino emphasized as he glared at Aiba’s back. He sat back down and looked at the notes. Nino, even though he was murmuring to himself that there’s no way he would befriend Sakurai, felt a little bit of joy as he assembled the notes as _thank you_ and placed them on the back page of his own notebook.

Is it possible, though, that Nino had somehow forgotten his actually unfounded irritation against Sakurai Sho? Was that irritation replaced by curiosity? Or a damn _crush_? No, the second option was impossible. Maybe Nino was just curious, especially that Sakurai was demonstrating an entirely different persona nowadays.

***

It was almost the last spurt of university-wide examinations and Nino could feel the aura of panic and hopelessness inside the library. On that particular day, the last Thursday of the hell week(s), Nino was assigned to take care of the library from 4 o’clock in the afternoon up to its closing time. Nino obliged since fewer students would be there and he could game in peace.

He was too immersed in his game that Nino only realized that it was almost closing time when his personal alarm rang off. He looked at the huge clock that confirmed it was about five minutes before 9 o’clock (an extension for exam season) and that he should do final checks, turn off the computers, and ensure that there were no remaining students in the library.

Nino stood up to do the routine and easily spotted a lighted up lamp in one of the more secluded studying booths. He heaved a sigh and went towards that spot only to find Sakurai Sho groaning in frustration at some long formula that already occupied his whole piece of paper.

Nino cleared his throat, making Sakurai look up at him. “It’s late and we’re closing,” he said.

Sakurai pursed his lips. “Can you give me a sec?”

“You don’t look like you’ll finish in a sec,” Nino snapped back. He also wanted to go home, to be honest.

Sakurai’s expression turned into hopelessness. “I… I can’t go home like this; Satoshi has his sister in his home so I can’t camp with him. This place is the only possible area for me to study.”

“Your own house?”

Sakurai’s expression darkened. “I won’t be able to concentrate there.” He seemed desperate enough so he stood up and bowed at Nino. “Please? Just this once, let me extend? You can go home and I’ll just lock the door after I leave.”

“Impossible,” Nino replied, trying to be strict. “I’m going to be in trouble if they find out that I left a student here. We have security cameras, you know?” He looked at Sakurai’s pleading face, which was funnily cute and very much different from his gangster-like character. He closed his eyes and sighed again, falling for the pitiful look. “Fine, fine. But I’d rather you transfer to the public desks by my booth so that I can keep an eye on you.”

Sakurai’s look turned into a smirk. “Why do you want to keep an eye on me? I’m too busy for hook-ups.”

Nino bit his lip, feeling embarrassed at what Sakurai said. “Shut up, you arrogant idiot. Instead of trying to flirt with me, why don’t you haul your books to the public table and start studying?”

“You think I’m flirting?” Sakurai chuckled and Nino just scoffed and walked away to hide the fact that his cheeks were very hot and probably very red. He badly wanted to hurl the empty book cart towards Sakurai to wipe that smug look on his face.

The other student obliged, however, and in a few minutes, Nino saw Sakurai settling himself in one of the large tables near his booth. Nino couldn’t help but watch how he organized his pens, notebooks, the lamp, and the books in different strategic places. It was as if being organized is an innate quality of Sakurai Sho. Nino didn’t want to be caught looking, however, so he decided to busy himself by ticking off the “library closing” checklist, only leaving the lights on in the public area.

After an hour, Sakurai didn’t seem like he would be done. His eyes were focused on the pages of the book he was reading while his right hand was scribbling some stuff on the notebook. Nino was close to sleeping but he really couldn’t leave Sakurai behind. He was also a bit hungry so he dragged his feet towards the vending machine by the entrance of the library and bought two cans of iced coffee.

“Here,” Nino offered to Sakurai, who just thanked him without looking up from his work. He drummed his pencil on the notebook. “Is it that difficult?”

Sakurai stopped drumming his pencil and looked at Nino, who was not sitting across him. “Well,” he haughtily started, “I came from the top college of this university, if you still don’t know that.”

Nino rolled his eyes. “I clearly know that. Most of the insane students studying here came from your college.” He leaned on the chair and crossing his arms. “I guess that’s already obvious.”

Sakurai then sighed. “School difficulty is one thing, but if you add pressure from others, it’s insane,” he started, running a hand through his hair in frustration. Nino just watched him and from that look, he concluded that Sakurai’s problem was not totally about his subjects, but of a different thing.

Usually, Nino didn’t care. But more of the time, his friends rant to him and he was like a rock just there to listen and nod and it would not matter. Jun and Aiba said it worked for them, just telling their problems to Nino, letting those words fade away, no secrets attached and no judgment from Nino, and feel better afterwards.

“You can share if you want,” Nino said with a shrug before drinking his coffee. “You’re not even studying anyway,” he pointed out, looking at the random doodles on the notebook page. Sakurai, aware of this, closed his notebook.

“What, do you have a crush on me, watching what I do?” Sakurai teased. “Doodling is an effective way of remembering what you’re studying, for your information.”

“Nah, I’m just too bored and you’re the only one awake in this damn hall,” Nino answered. “I’m offering my services but if you don’t want to, I’m going to go back to my booth.”

Sakurai sighed. “Well, okay.” He placed his pencil down. “I don’t want to go back home, not until I prove to my parents that I’m not a useless son.”

Well, that probably explained the fact why Sakurai didn’t want to study at home. Nino could only nod as a response, not wanting to say anything that could upset his companion.

Nino thought how his own words attacked Sakurai and he cringed at himself. The man was already hearing insults from his parents and Nino apparently emphasize that to him and in front of the student body.

“Maybe it’s me being competitive or being rebellious but I just want to prove them wrong. When they expected me to become the best, I tried to suck. But I also wanted to prove them wrong when they said I’m useless,’” Sakurai explained. “Weird, huh?”

“Well, that’s a good kind of weird,” Nino admitted. He was actually impressed that the fact that insults fired him up. Maybe his statement towards Sakurai made the guy determined to disprove him as well. “You have an awfully weird way to motivate yourself.”

“You can say that,” Sakurai shrugged. “But I’m kinda glad that I’m like this. I wanted to prove people wrong. There’s an advantage and a disadvantage of that attitude but I guess I’ll use their words as fuel to my fire.”

Nino just nodded. “Well, I did say some rude stuff towards you…”

“… Yeah, you have definitely fired me up,” Sakurai said with a smirk. His eyes were also suggestive, making Nino shirk away and look down to hide the hotness in his cheeks. 

Nino stood up. “That ends your free ranting corner,” he announced. Looking at the clock, he said, “Hey, is it alright if you go home at 11? I have a train to catch.”

“I was about to take you to supper…”

Nino shivered a bit at the invitation. He couldn’t go out with Sakurai! “N-no! I’m not hungry at this point.”

“Well, I want to negotiate and go home at midnight and then I’ll gladly give you a free taxi ride,” Sakurai said.

The negotiation made it seem that Sakurai needed more time. “The taxi ride is free, okay?” Nino confirmed before he went back to his booth. In the comfort of his low chair, Nino instinctively opened his notebook containing Sakurai’s notes. He then craned his neck to be able to see what the other student was doing.

Sakurai was drinking his canned coffee while hastily scribbling notes. Nino couldn’t help but smile at the level of concentration. Sakurai had probably figured everything out.

Sakurai gently rang the bell, waking Nino from his stupor. The clock read 12:25. He was grinning like a child who got a gift and it wasn’t as if he had an all-nighter reviewing for some math subject. “Hey, we’re going,” he said in a gentle voice that sent shivers down to Nino.

Nino quickly stood up and looked at the table where Sakurai had worked. It was already cleaned up and the lamp was returned to its original position. The books Sakurai had borrowed were neatly piled on a nearby book cart. “Thanks for cleaning up,” he said with a yawn.

“I kinda bothered you so it’s the least I can do,” Sakurai replied. “I just called the taxi company for a cab. If we start walking to the entrance gate now, we could just be in time for the pick-up.”

“Great…” Nino nodded sleepily. He grabbed his bag and the keys to the library and the two made their way out of the hall. The university grounds were too quiet and only a few lamp posts lining the main road were lit up. “I haven’t really stayed in school this late,” he admitted. It was a bit creepy so Nino was glad that Sakurai was by his side.

“Scared?” the other student’s arrogant smirk was at it again.

“Nah.” They silently walked towards the gate. It seemed like the taxi had arrived at a perfect timing.

As the taxi sped off, Nino did his best not to look at the man beside him. He stared at the view outside the window, which was very boring during the midnight. He tried to interest himself with some funnily walking drunken men but it was not enough to distract him from the light snoring sounds beside him, especially that the source of the sound suddenly placed the weight of his head on Nino’s shoulders.

Nino looked beside him and saw Sakurai leaning on his shoulder, sleeping soundly. He was so tempted to shake him off but he also understood that Sakurai had an all-nighter and would need all the sleep in order to be refreshed the next day. Also, the feeling of Sakurai leaning on him like this made him feel warm and comfortable. Nino didn’t want to admit it, but he liked it.

Looking at Sakurai’s tired face and full lips, he hoped that the first exam wouldn’t be that early.

Nino was the first one to be dropped off, according to Sakurai’s instructions. He hesitated, but he had to at least wake Sakurai up. “Hey, Sakurai-san, this is my stop.”

It was quite easy for Sakurai to get back to his waking state. He wasn’t even groggy-looking when he sat up and he smiled at Nino. “Thanks again for staying up later than usual, Ninomiya-san.”

“No worries, you kinda need it,” Nino shrugged as he grabbed his bag. “Good luck tomorrow, Sakurai-san.”

“Sho. You can call me by my first name… kinda like how Satoshi does.”

Nino’s mouth was a bit open out of shock. “Uh, okay,” he managed to say afterwards. “I’ll be going, Sho-kun.”

“Bye!”

Nino exited the cab and stood there while he waited for it to go. He then turned around and made his way to his apartment, still feeling weird about the abrupt development between him and Sakurai… who wanted to be called Sho.

***

It was already the end of the semester and students were just going in the library to have their clearances signed by the librarian. Nino hated this time of the year but the money he gets is good so he still does it. He even had a rubber stamp with his initials done so that he wouldn’t have to bother signing and writing his name on every freaking clearance form.

“Hey,” Sho greeted while Nino was busily checking if the name in the clearance form he was holding still got unreturned books.

Nino just hummed in reply. He was quite busy. However, he noticed that Sho’s presence did not disappear so he finally looked up. Sho looked fresh and ecstatic. There must be something good about this. “Hey, are you going to do clearance?”

“Not yet today,” Sho replied, dropping an English book on Nino’s table. “I’m very bored so I want to read some stuff and bleach my brain from the maths.”

Nino chuckled. “Yeah, right,” he answered. “Some rich kid like you doesn’t need a part-time job,” he said.

Sho frowned. “Watch it,” he replied but he didn’t seem to be offended. Maybe things were getting better for him, especially after he passed the exam and ended up being the topnotcher of their batch (Nino knew because he walked in front of Sho’s college just to see a congratulatory post). “I don’t need a part-time job but I’m trying to look for a real job in preparation for the real world.”

“I see, I see,” Nino said. “Okay, give me the book. I’m going to give you an express pass today,” he added with a smirk. “You better treat me to lunch or something after that all-nighter.”

Sho just shrugged in reply, not answering to Nino’s invitation. The librarian looked at the book entitled _“Go against All Odds”_ with a scantily clad woman and man at the cover. According to the bar code information, it’s an English romantic fiction. Sho sure had a weird taste.

He gave a questionable look. “Really, though?” he asked, and Sho gave a silent but hearty laugh. They were in the library after all.

Nino gave a silent judging look, not the serious kind, but a playful one. It sure was interesting that Sho was interested in steamy novels. The book was checked out, and Sho inserted the book inside his bag before he exited the library.

***

“Are you even listening to me?” Aiba hissed, poking Nino’s forehead.

“Uhh, what?” the best friends were cramped together inside Nino’s booth. Aiba had been talking about how his job interview was and apparently, he asked something but Nino did not respond properly.

“I was asking you if you have tried a job interview with a big company,” Aiba asked with narrowed eyes. He followed Nino’s line of sight and then poked Nino’s forehead again.

“You’re ogling Sakurai Sho, huh?” Aiba asked with a teasing smirk.

“You’re the one who has a crush on him.”

“Correction. It’s _had_ ,” Aiba emphasized. “He does look different, right? He’s got brown hair now! And why does he hang out here often, anyway? School year’s almost done!”

True enough, Sho was the only occupant of the library, apart from those who came and go for the clearances. Nino indeed noticed that Sho was sporting a nice brown shade and he might have gotten some hair treatment because it looked soft and healthy and if Nino could, he wanted to run his hands through it. Sho probably saw the two of them so he gave a wink and then went back to his steamy novel.

A few hours later, Sho stood up and returned _“Go against All Odds”_.

“Wow, I guess you’re that horny that you’re able to finish this easily,” Nino said with a teasing smile.

“Well, yeah, that’s my talent,” Sho replied with a nonchalant shrug. “By the way, I’m taking this one home.”

Nino took the book entitled _“Out of the Market and into the Kitchen”,_ the book cover of the chef carrying a tuna head beaming at him. “A cookbook?”

Sho shrugged again. “Never too late to try cooking.”

Nino squinted at Sho. Nevertheless, he checked out the book. The man placed the book inside his bag and left the library without another word.

“His book choices are freaking me out,” Nino exclaimed.

“Maybe he’s a hobbyist?” Aiba suggested. He blinked suggestively. “You should ask him. You seem to be interested.”

“You know very well that I hate him,” Nino replied through gritted teeth.

“Oh Nino, you always tell me you hate me but I know that means otherwise,” Aiba teased, poking Nino’s side.

Nino rolled his eyes, trying to hide the fact that he was contemplating Aiba’s words. “My hate for you is affectionate. Sho-kun and I started off with the wrong foot!”

“Ah, it’s Sho-kun now.” Aiba just smiled knowingly and shook his head before he returned to playing with whatever it was on his phone.

Conveniently, Ohno entered the library a few hours later to return some art books and have his own clearance form signed. “Hey!” Nino asked, making his voice a little louder because Ohno looked like he was sleepwalking while carrying his books.

Ohno just gave a lame wave as a reply.

“Does Sho-kun like cooking?” Nino asked, really wildly curious.

Whatever sleepy expression Ohno had earlier suddenly disappeared, as if cold water was thrown at him. “What? Cooking? Sho-chan likes cooking?”

“Yeah, he borrowed an advanced cook book!”

“And my best friend is really curious,” Aiba chirped in, earning a painful elbow nudge on his ribs.

“Shut up, you’re not part of this conversation,” Nino glared at his best friend. He turned to Ohno again, who seemed to be as confused. “So, what do you think?”

“If you let Sho-chan near the kitchen, accidents will happen,” Ohno answered. “I wanted him to learn cooking though, for survival.”

“He borrowed a professional Tsukiji Market companion cookbook,” Nino explained. “I bet what he needs is something like _‘Cooking for Kids’_ , if that’s the case,” Nino replied.

Ohno looked really worried about this. “I should go check on him to be sure,” he answered. “Sho-chan doesn’t really borrow books apart from the ones he use for school. He likes newspapers.”

“But your friend decided to borrow a cook book and an English erotic novel,” Nino replied with a raised eyebrow.

Ohno blinked a few times, his head tilted to the side, as he thought of an answer to the mystery. “Oh, I see,” his mouth now split into a grin.

“Hmm?”

“Why don’t you check the books he borrowed and try to figure them out?” Ohno said with a kind smile. “I’m sure he’s trying to say something.”

Nino was just left there, puzzled, as Ohno cheerfully took his clearance form and waltzed out of the library.

“I think that Ohno guy knows what’s up but he’s not willing to tell,” Aiba expressed.

“Shut up.” 

***

Two days later, Sho returned to the library, returning the cookbook. Suspicious and a little bit worried, Nino grabbed Sho’s hands, trying to check if he burned them or something. They looked fine (and also they were really soft and slender).

“Why are you checking out my hands?” Sho asked with a laugh.

Nino held out the cookbook. “Did you try the recipes in this book?” he asked.

Sho grinned. “What is that to you? Do you want to try my cooking?”

“I don’t know. Ohno-kun said you sucked so I don’t want to take my chances,” Nino bit back with his smirk.

Sho was mildly surprised with the mention of Ohno but he easily recovered and said, “Well, you’re always welcome to ask me on a date if you want to try my cooking. Just let me know beforehand because I need to go to the market to get fresh ingredients.” Sho then placed another book on the table. “I’m going to borrow this.”

Nino looked at the book. It was a self-help book entitled _“With Perseverance Comes Glory”_. It’s a cringe title with bold letters and bright yellow background. “I didn’t know you need to cheer yourself up this bad,” Nino remarked. His snap-back skills are getting worse because of Sakurai Sho.

Sho just nodded with his annoying, all-knowing smile. “Someone told me stop being a waste of space,” he said, meeting Nino’s eyes. His smile gradually changed into something soft and, in Nino’s thoughts, breathtaking.

Nino’s smirk was wiped away from his face and he just stared at Sho, not really knowing what to say next. He didn’t want to and couldn’t believe that this will be brought up again. He tried to think quickly of what to say. “Y-your book choices are odd,” he said, avoiding Sho’s eyes by scanning the codes. He tugged at Sho’s ID for scanning so when he looked up, Sho’s face was just a few inches away from his, totally making Nino feel heat on his cheeks due to embarrassment.

“And you should really try to figure things out. You’re not that stupid, right?” Sho said, winking before he took his book and headed out of the library.

***

“What should I figure out? I’m not stupid,” Nino angrily muttered at himself while he mopped the library floor. It was already very shiny that he could look at his reflection on the tiles but Nino wanted some distraction.

“You need to take a break because you’re going insane,” Jun’s voice said from behind Nino. His friend was leaning on the wall, his arms crossed and a soft smile on his lips. “Being a library part-timer isn’t really a happy job.”

“Shut up, J,” Nino said, continuing the incessant mopping. “I’m busy. And don’t step on the clean floor!” he added.

“Oh, come on,” Jun rolled his eyes. “Something is clearly bothering you. It’s almost the end of the semester. Actually… tomorrow is the last day,” Jun added.

“Yeah, and?”

“I’ll be blunt. You actually like that Sakurai Sho, don’t you?” Jun asked with narrowed eyes.

“I… I don’t! Shut up, you idiot!” Nino answered, totally annoyed.

Jun just shrugged. “Well, you better figure that out because he’s gonna graduate and you probably won’t see him again.” He looked at his phone. “Stupid Aiba,” he muttered. He waved his phone at Nino. “Your cheesy best friend just sent a corny acrostic to me. I guess I better go scold him.”

“You better!” Nino yelled after Jun, who just laughed as he exited the hall.

Nino sighed as he stopped mopping, too distracted with Jun’s words. Did he really like Sakurai Sho? And why? How? He could only place his hand over his chest, feeling its strong beating that was produced just by thinking of that idiot.

Suddenly, out of the blue, he remembered Ohno’s suggestion regarding the books, and Aiba’s stupid acrostic. Nino quickly dropped the mop and made his way to his booth to check the last few books Sho had borrowed.

***

Sho sighed. It was the last day of the school year and his last day as a student. Of course, he wanted to say goodbye to Nino, the person who gave him a (very rude) wake up call. He was back up and back on track and miraculously, he was able to pull it off at the last minute and graduate decently (as top of the class).

He was thankful to Nino, even though they started off the wrong foot. Being hit by a book in front of a large crowd was totally humiliating, and Sho had to use his fist to pacify anyone who tried to bring that event up. But of course, it was more difficult when Nino decided to confront him in the middle of the university grounds.

Something about Nino annoyed him that much. Something about Nino made Sho think about that pale, snarky librarian who only had daggers as tongue. He had watched Nino fall down from those shelves, but was glad that Nino didn’t see how Sho had fallen for him. 

Holding the last book that he had borrowed, he made his way inside the library and was pleased that Nino was the one handling the library counter, bent over as he counted the books. Sho inconspicuously grabbed the last book that he wanted to borrow and made his way to the counter, taking Nino’s small bell and ringing it to grab his attention.

Sho could be very direct, but sometimes he just wanted to play around and leave puzzles. His best friend, Satoshi, knew how much Sho liked using words and objects to express something. The idea he tried at Nino was corny and probably unoriginal, but he kinda liked it because it gave him more opportunities to see and speak to the man.

Nino stood up and looked at him. “Oh, its’ you.”

“Yeah, I have to return my book in order to graduate, of course,” Sho said. He wanted this to sound like their usual banter, but he had to admit, he felt a little lonely that this would also be the last time he would see Nino. He could go back to the university again as an alumnus, but that wouldn’t be that soon.

Nino returned to his counter and held out his hand to get the book. He silently scanned the book and dropped it on the ‘for return’ pile. “I assume there’s another book?” Nino said, looking up at Sho with a knowing smile.

Sho was mildly surprised. He chuckled heartily and placed the last book on Nino’s booth. “I thought you’re smarter than that.”

Nino gave a small two-finger salute. “You think that was cool?” he shook his head while smiling. He wrote something on a sticky note and placed it on the last book, a book entitled _“Me, Myself, and I”._ It had a phone number written on it. “You can’t take out this book because today’s the last day. But you can take me out.”

Sho just laughed as he took the sticky note. “Smooth,” he said.

“Your technique sucks, to be honest,” Nino crossed his arms and jokingly frowned. “And unoriginal.”

“Yeah, as if you figured that out,” Sho snapped back. He gasped in surprise when Nino grabbed his neck strap, and instead of the usual ID barcode scanning, he closed the gap between them. Nino’s lips were thin but really soft and he liked the taste of it. They pulled away from the soft kiss and Nino obviously looked flustered with the suddenness.

“So? Will you _go out with me_?” Sho asked, pausing at each word that corresponded to the book titles.

“Wasn’t me giving my number an obvious answer already? Wasn’t that kiss enough answer as well?” Nino said in fake annoyance. “Just give me the time, date, and location. And we’re off to go.”

Nino beckoned Sho to enter the booth and with a smile, Sho grabbed Nino’s hips and moved closer for another kiss. And another. And another.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m scanning you and checking you out,” Sho answered with a grin.

Nino rolled his eyes. “That’s the corniest library-related pick-up line I’ve ever heard.”

“Well, have you heard of others?”

“No,” Nino replied, blushing, probably because he’s so inexperienced about library flirting.

“Then don’t complain.”


End file.
